The Affordable Healthcare Act is mandating that contraception be covered. This will require that employers who offer insurance must offer birth control pills, and other forms of family planning, without charging a co-pay. This Act is almost like a universal contraception act, which many have dubbed it that. In a tight economy what woman wants to face the dilemma of budgeting her birth control? Contraception is not a miscellaneous item in a woman’s life.

This Healthcare Act is not forcing women to take birth control nor is the government trying to co-op a woman’s womb. This is the Obama’s administrations way of putting the power of women’s reproductive right’s back where it belongs, in the hands of women. There is nothing contraversial about trusting women to govern their own reproductive affairs, unless you are the Catholic church. The Cardinals are threatening to defy the law through civil disobedience. I find this interesting that the Catholic church is against this. If you are pro-life, it would make sense to me that you would be pro-contraception. The Catholic Church is not the only religion to be against family planning, but they’re in fact the loudest and the most hypocritical on the issue of contraception.

As a rational thinking human being this percentage is not astounding to me. Let’s think about it, when was the last time you saw a Catholic family of ten? Clearly Catholic women are not following the traditional tenets of Catholicism. But someone please alert the Cardinals and the Papacy of these shocking numbers. How in the world can Catholics boycott contraception because they think it’s “sinful,” when 98% of Catholic women, rely so heavily on this sinful concoction? The Catholic church has a rich history of ignoring compelling facts!

The issue here is once again men, men who want to micromanage women’s rights, and use the guise of religion to do so. If Catholic run businesses e.g. hospitals, universities, and social agencies want to keep receiving federal dollars, and maintain their tax exemption status, then they need to follow the law. Where was the moral outrage when Viagra, since making it’s debut on the market, has always been covered no question asked by insurance companies. So in essence we want to protect a man’s right to have an erection lasting up to 5 hours, but we don’t working women to have access to affordable family planning options?

No woman’s reproductive health right should be inextricably tied her to employer’s moral proclivities. This is yet another reason why this country needs universal healthcare. I am sure every woman who works for a Catholic organization is not Catholic. Why should those women be governed by the moral code of their employer? An overwhelming majority of Catholic women are taking ownership of their body, and I think it’s time for the Catholic church to respect this, and take note of the cultural and religious shifts.

Because this is an election year the Catholic church is trying to wield it’s political influence and back the Obama administration into a corner. What the Catholic church fails to realize is that their flock is living diametrically opposite from the church’s teaching. Which in essence signifies that modern Catholic’s have already voted with their lifestyle. A woman’s diaphragm is not the platform that the Catholic church should try to occupy.

Does the Catholic church have a right to opt out is this rule is the government encroaching on their religious beliefs? Share your thoughts…

I think the Catholic church has the right to cling to its 2000 plus years beliefs, not that I agree with it. The idea of pro life was purely political to ‘grow’ the flock and have strength in numbers. A religion that promotes sexual acts between a man and a woman as acts of procreation was assured an ever growing flock. But that time has long passed and the Catholic church is overdue in reevaluating its place and moral standing in the Modern World.